Pay the Price

Chapter 31- Relieved

When Christopher woke up, he let out a pained groan, almost yelling out in complete and utter agony at the stings that shot through his side. He knew he wasn't dead and no matter how much he bled from the stab wound, he wouldn't die. There was something he still needed to do, but he didn't know what it was.

He felt something gurgle in his throat, so he swiftly sat up, finding there was an empty bucket next to his bed. He quickly picked it up, retching his guts into it, finding there was nothing in there except bile and blood. Against his family's wishes, he didn't eat that day. Or the day prior. And they didn't notice as he was excellent at convincing them otherwise.

As soon as he finished vomiting, he put the bucket on the ground, and fell back on his bed, wanting to cry in pain. So, that's what he did. He took a hold of his childhood bear and sobbed into it.

Through blurry vision, he looked around the room, spotting someone familiar by his bed. Because he was already half-blind, and his pain made it worse, it was difficult for him to recognise who it was. However, the second they spoke, he recognised who it was.

Even though he didn't register what was said to him, he still knew. It was confirmed when his right eye cleared up and allowed for him to see properly. Raelene Salvador. She was there, looking at him with worry. Her arms were folded on his bed by his head, and she rested her chin on her arms.

He didn't understand why she was there, and he didn't want anyone by him. Especially not Raelene as he had been stabbed and was in a very weakened state. He tried to talk, but he couldn't.

"You're awake! Thank gosh. Are you, well, as okay as you can be?" She asked, holding out her hands for support  as he sat up again. She was looking at him with concern, noticing his bandage was getting soaked in blood. Christopher just let out a few pained whines, the feeling of electricity shooting through his body. "Can I change over the dressing?"

Reluctantly, Christopher nodded, almost passing out again as he felt the bandage being taken off. Raelene supported his head with one hand, using her other to clean the injury and put a clean dressing on him.

"I'm alive." He managed to rasp out, refusing to allow Raelene to let him go. She gently lifted him out of bed and carried him to the connected bathroom. She set him in his bathtub, which was rid of all water droplets, and washed her hands. He tried speaking again, but his energy left him, and he almost passed out again.

When Raelene walked back over, she gave him a gentle shake of the shoulder to keep him awake. Then she began to clean out his nose, noticing he sounded congested when he inhaled through his nose. He started fighting her, and she let him scratch up her arms, not backing down. When his face scrunched up like he was going to sneeze, she held the tissue before his mouth and nose, catching any oncoming phlegm when he let out a loud sneeze.

"Bless you." She said, throwing away the tissue. "Please settle down." She held the back of his head, pulling him to rest on her shoulder. "I don't want to hurt you, but I want you to be able to take deep breaths. Can you please do that for me?" He followed her instructions, taking deep breaths. "Thank you."

She took a glance at her arms, noticing the scratches were only superficial, and were no cause for concern. Then she looked at Christopher, who started lightly patting her arm, cooling the sting from the coldness of his hands.

After a few more seconds, she lifted him out of the tub, taking him back out to his bed. She lowered him down, keeping him upright so she could get a shirt on him. He started to cry more when she walked away from him, thinking she was angry about the scratches. He wouldn't have blamed her, but he felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Raelene." He apologised when she walked back over with a dark purple shirt. "I'm really sorry." She helped him put the shirt on, which was short sleeved, then got him a jumper to put over it.

"Don't worry, Chris." She smiled, holding his cheek softly. "Can you walk for me? I'll help you out if you need me to." He nodded, so she helped him up, walking backwards to prompt him to move forward. "We need to get you something to eat. You need some energy."

Not trusting that he wouldn't roll down the stairs like a bowling ball, she picked him up bridal style, carrying him down the stairs. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he went limp. He was still slipping in and out of consciousness, up until he was set to his feet on the ground floor, forcing him awake.

They walked to the kitchen, but before they could get through the doorway, he fell to the side. Raelene quickly caught him, lowering him onto his back, leaning over him as she carefully shook him. Through blurry vision, he thought he saw blood seeping through his shirt, and had a full-fledged panic attacked.

In his eyes, blood splatters were everywhere, and Raelene's face looked distorted and broken. He tried getting away, tried to fight her, and screamed out for help. He was hallucinating.

People surrounded him, and he just broke down. He stopped fighting, curled up, and sobbed hysterically. Raelene pulled him in a seated position, hugging him tightly, not knowing what was going on in his mind. But she thought holding him would help him out, though, she made sure not to hold him too tightly to prevent him from feeling as if he couldn't get away if need be . She rubbed his hair, letting him put his head on her shoulder, and she looked at his siblings with questioning.

"Blood is all over me." Christopher whispered, trying to rip his shirt off. Raelene held his wrists to stop him, slightly waving people away to not overwhelm Christopher more. He was trembling so badly it appeared he was having a seizure, still sobbing, and he looked petrified.

"No, there isn't. You're clean of blood." She told him, helping him stand back up, taking him to the dining room, sitting him at the table. As they walked, he clung to her, and she kept him close. "What would you like to eat?" He shook his head, accepting a tissue to clean away his tears. "Judging by your vomit, you haven't eaten anything for at least two days. What would you like to eat?"

He just stared at her. She sighed, got up, and went to get him food and a glass of water. When she left, Christopher put his head on the table, closed his eyes, and almost fell asleep. A hand rubbed his back, and he could recognise the scent of cologne belonging to Connor.

"My chest hurts. I lost control of everything, and everything hurts so bad." He muttered to no one in particular, starting to scratch at his face. Connor gently stopped him, putting his hands under his head instead. "Andreas tried to break in. He stabbed me. He tried to kill me." He continued, accepting when Raelene made him sit up and drink a glass of water.

"I wish I could kill him." Connor muttered, noticing colour come back to his brother's face after he ate something. "You look better already." Christopher suddenly jolted, lifted his shirt a bit, and ripped the dressing off. No mark was left behind. The stitches fell off and the mark didn't even leave behind a scar.

Then he stood up, put the dressing into the bin, ripped the tape from his nose to also put it in the bin, and stumbled out of the room so he could go back to his bedroom. He made it to the stairs, leaning on the railing as he began up the stairs, still depleted of energy. Just as he got halfway up the first flight after a dreadfully long time, an arm wrapped around his waist, assisting him up.

Raelene was silent, seemingly confused. She didn't understand the destruction, his hallucinations, and how his side healed barely within a day of being stabbed. Just from eating something. As if the energy given from eating went into healing the wound.

"Please say something. I can't handle the silence. It's unbearable." He whispered, putting his entire body weight onto the railing, trying to get out of Raelene's hold, to no avail. She didn't let him go, making her grip firmer instead.

"I'm not sure what to say. I thought you were going to die, twice. Then all of a sudden, you're fully healed but unwell. All I want to know is how you got stabbed, and how you didn't die from the blood loss."